Fun., other Best New Artist nominees react to Grammy nomination

Fun., Alabama Shakes, The Lumineers, Frank Ocean and Hunter Hayes were all nominated for the Best New Artist Grammy and talked about what it is like to be recognized by the Recording Academy.

Fun. earned a total of six nominations, tied with the lead for most with Kanye West, Ocean, Jay-Z and Mumford & Sons. Members of the band, which did perform at the nominations special Wednesday night, told MTV News that even though they were favorites to earn multiple nomination, they tried not to listen.

“People told us, but only a total sh--head, would sit there and go 'Yeah, I think you're right,'" guitarist Jack Antonoff said. “In our case, the only thing we could do is shut ourselves off, and that's been our response this whole time.”

“It was crazy, we were sitting in the audience and we got Pop Vocal, which was the first one we were nominated for, and, you know, to have a dude playing guitar, singing our song ... the surealness of hearing your name called in a nomination list is quadrupled when you're hearing your song sang in a nominations list," Atonoff explained about the moment they received their first nomination for “We Are Young.” “But that first one was amazing, because that was the moment where it was like 'Okay, no matter what happens from here, we're technically a Grammy-nominated artist.”

Lumineers cellist Neyla Pekarek told Rolling Stone that, “I had to cancel my Facebook because so many people were talking about” the group’s nomination. “We made an album without thinking anything about this...We're just super happy to be here.”

“I'm just happy [that] my Nanna's happy,” Alabama Shakes singer Brittany Howard said during the post-show press conference. “If I was on the other side of the fence I'd vote for Frank Ocean, personally,” drummer Steve Johnson added. Ocean was the only Best New Artist nominee not at the conference.

Country singer Hayes added, “To wave the country flag in that category means a lot to me.”

These new artists will find out if they’ve won on Feb. 10, when the awards are handed out live on CBS.